mongrel

[ muhng-gruhl, mong- ]
See synonyms for mongrel on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a dog of mixed or indeterminate breed.

  2. any animal or plant resulting from the crossing of different breeds or varieties.

  1. any cross between different things, especially if inharmonious or indiscriminate.

adjective
  1. of mixed breed, nature, or origin; of or like a mongrel.

Origin of mongrel

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English (once): heraldic term for a type of dog; equivalent to mong(e) “mixture” (Old English gemang;cf. mingle) + -rel

synonym study For mongrel

2. See hybrid.

Other words for mongrel

Opposites for mongrel

Other words from mongrel

  • mon·grel·ism, mon·grel·ness, noun
  • mon·grel·ly, adverb

Words Nearby mongrel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mongrel in a sentence

  • Sam Bungey grew up in London, went to university in Dublin and co-founded mongrel, a monthly magazine about Irish youth culture.

    Waiting for Obama | Sam Bungey | March 22, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Yet how came it that even a low-caste mongrel of a Lascar should offer such an overt insult to a Brahmin!

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • Diard's mongrel position, which he himself made still more questionable, brought him great troubles.

    Juana | Honore de Balzac
  • With our door ajar we watched the ghastly struggle between the faithful mongrel and the assassin.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • But he was such a forlornly muddy mongrel pup, and so eloquent of tail, that I spoke his name on an impulse, and put out my hand.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton
  • And a mongrel followed faithfully all the time unnoticed, and wondering, perhaps, at his master.

    Over the Sliprails | Henry Lawson

British Dictionary definitions for mongrel

mongrel

/ (ˈmʌŋɡrəl) /


noun
  1. a plant or animal, esp a dog, of mixed or unknown breeding; a crossbreed or hybrid

  2. taboo a person of mixed race

  1. Australian and NZ sport toughness and physical aggression: a tall southpaw with plenty of mongrel

adjective
  1. of mixed origin, breeding, character, etc

Origin of mongrel

1
C15: from obsolete mong mixture; compare Old English gemong a mingling

Derived forms of mongrel

  • mongrelism, noun
  • mongrelly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012